Rail Network Information System

The problem

The Public Transport Authority (PTA) is responsible for protecting the state’s freight rail network and managing the long-term (49 years) rail infrastructure lease to ensure that at the end of the lease the network will be returned in the same condition or better than what is was at the beginning of the lease. The lease covers both the land and the infrastructure on that land.

After managing the lease for only 15 years it is becoming apparent that it is getting more and more difficult to develop a cohesive picture of changes in land and infrastructure use over time.

The PTA wants to establish a system that will allow internal users to identify any rail network segment using a GIS system, to discover all documents associated with that particular segment and, through this, will allow to build up a complete picture of any activity that was undertaken over time in relation to this segment.

Mercury’s contribution

Mercury Project Solutions scoped and managed the development of the Rail Network Information System to allow the PTA to manage the lease of its extensive rail network. Key requirements included the linkage of Objective (EDRMS) with a web GIS, the definition of required workflows in Objective, the development of a reporting tool and the implementation of a notification framework to ensure contractual compliance.

After capturing the user requirements, we developed a conceptual solution architecture, an implementation plan and costing for the project. Mercury then managed the implementation of the project and in parallel undertook a significant data back-capture program to ensure monitoring and spatial data were of high quality and easily integrated.